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The countries have been referred to the European Court of Justice. /VCG
The European Commission on Thursday said it had decided to sue Bulgaria and Slovakia over their failure to transpose the EU's Renewable Energy Directive into national legislation.
The directive establishes the EU's legal framework for renewable development across all sectors of the bloc's economy. Furthermore, it sets a binding target for renewable energy of at least 32 percent for the EU as a whole, coupled with a target of a 14 percent share of renewable fuels in transport. The deadline for both targets is 2030.
Approved in 2018, the directive gave EU members states until June 30, 2021 to adopt the laws and procedures necessary to comply. However, neither Bulgaria nor Slovakia hit the deadline to inform the EU of having made those preparations.
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As a result, both countries were sent letters of formal notice in July and were further contacted in December, but the EU has yet to receive a satisfactory response.
The Commission has now asked the Court of Justice to impose financial sanctions on Slovakia and Bulgaria, saying in a press statement that it seeks to "ensure the development of renewable energy across the EU and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy dependency and high prices."
In related business, the Commission also sued Hungary regarding its export restrictions on building materials. Ireland was also sued for failing to transpose the Water Framework Directive into national law, while Bulgaria, Ireland, Greece, Italy, Latvia and Portugal were sued for failing to prevent invasive alien species damaging European nature.
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Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466